When Mickey Mouse (voice: James MacDonald) cuts down a Christmas tree, he fails to notice that the chipmunks Chip (voice: James MacDonald) and Dale (voice: Dessie Flynn) were living there. When the tree is set up in the house, the chipmunks have lots of new things to play with, but Mickey’s dog, Pluto, is none-to-happy about the uninvited guests. 6 min.
Slight, enjoyable Christmas fare, this is traditional Disney animation with all that entails. It looks great, which should be a given for a Disney cartoon in the early ’50s. Pluto runs around a lot and barks and Mickey keeps missing the two critters that break his ornaments and try to screw Pluto’s nose in tighter (hey, it wasn’t lighting; what else is a chipmunk to do?). Considering Mickey is the only one that can come even close to enunciating a word clearly, and he’s a secondary character, there isn’t much conversation.
There are a few classic moments (a chipmunk disguising himself as a Santa candle) and quite a few routine, but comfortably homey ones. Shown with a batch of other shorts, or before a holiday feature, Pluto’s Christmas Tree is an amiable little slice of nostalgia.